Ali died last week in a hospital, his lungs full of fluid, a stent in his chest. Health officials say he had bird flu, but they cannot pinpoint where he picked it up: The market, the school, on the rooftops with the pigeon keepers?

Homes and classrooms have been disinfected, neighborhood poultry has been confiscated, and the man splitting chicken breasts with a machete keeps watch for police in case he has to disappear. There is talk of an epidemic, grumbles of conspiracy.

"The Health Ministry came. ... They tested everyone in this building," said Ali's mother, Aleya Ismail. "But still they don't know how it got into my son. Where can I raise poultry here? Under the bed?"

Egypt has had 65 cases of bird flu, including 26 deaths, since 2006 -- the highest national toll outside Asia, where the virus, designated as H5N1, was believed to have first appeared in humans in 1997.

The World Health Organization is concerned that, like swine flu, the avian virus could mutate and become easily transmissible between humans.

Scientists fear that if this happens the avian virus could be more dangerous than the swine flu outbreak, overwhelming cities such as Cairo, where overcrowding, poor sanitation, suspicion and cultural traditions are more potent than Tamiflu prescriptions.

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